Editing Juliana of the Netherlands (section)

=== Crises and recovery ===
On the night of 31 January 1953, the Netherlands was hit by [[North Sea flood of 1953|the most destructive storm in more than five hundred years]]. Thirty breaches of dunes and dikes occurred and many towns were swept away by twelve-foot [[storm surge]]s. More than 1800 people drowned and tens of thousands were trapped by the floodwaters. Dressed in boots and an old coat, Queen Juliana waded through water and slopped through deep mud all over the devastated areas to bring desperate people food and clothing. Showing compassion and concern, reassuring the people, her tireless efforts would permanently endear her to the citizens of the Netherlands.
[[File:NL-HaNA 2.24.01.04 0 907-5339.jpg|thumb|Queen Juliana with Brazilian President [[Juscelino Kubitschek]] at [[Soestdijk Palace]], 1956]]
In 1956, the influence of Hofmans on Juliana's political views almost brought down the monarchy in a [[constitutional crisis]]; this caused the court and the royal family to split into a "Bernhard faction", set on removing a queen considered a religious fanatic and a threat to [[NATO]], and the queen's pious and [[pacifist]] courtiers. Prime Minister [[Willem Drees]] resolved the crisis. However, Juliana lost out to her powerful husband and his friends. Hofmans was banished from the court and Juliana's supporters were sacked or pensioned. Prince Bernhard planned to divorce his wife but decided against it when he, as he told an American journalist, "found out that the woman still loved him" {{Citation needed|reason=reference to interview needed|date=April 2019}}.
[[File:Koningin Juliana bezoekt de Ir Jonkie school te Hwijk, Bestanddeelnr 910-8472.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Queen Juliana inspecting the troops, 1959]]
Queen Juliana faced another crisis among her Protestant citizens in 1963, when her second daughter [[Princess Irene of the Netherlands|Irene]] secretly converted to [[Roman Catholicism]] and, without government approval, on 29 April 1964 married [[Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma|Prince Carlos Hugo]] of [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]], [[Duke of Parma]], a claimant to the Spanish throne and also a leader in Spain's [[Carlist]] party. Given the history of the Dutch struggle for independence from Roman Catholic Spain, and with fascist German oppression still fresh in the minds of the Dutch people, the events leading to the marriage were played out in all the newspapers and a storm of hostility erupted against the monarchy for allowing it to happen—a matter so serious that the queen's abdication became a real possibility. She survived, however, thanks to the underlying devotion she had earned over the years.

Another crisis developed as a result of the announcement in July 1965 of the engagement of Princess Beatrix, heir to the throne, to German diplomat [[Claus von Amsberg]]. The future husband of the future queen had been a member of the [[Nazi]] [[Wehrmacht]] and the [[Hitler Youth]] movement. Many angry Dutch citizens demonstrated in the streets, and held rallies and marches against the "traitorous" affair. While this time there were no calls for the queen's abdication—because the true object of the people's wrath, Princess Beatrix, would then be queen—they did start to question the value of having a monarchy at all. After attempting to have the marriage cancelled, Queen Juliana acquiesced and the marriage took place under a continued storm of protest; an almost certain attitude pervaded the country that Princess Beatrix might be the last member of the House of Orange to ever reign in the Netherlands. Despite all these difficulties, Queen Juliana's personal popularity suffered only temporarily.
[[File:Christmas - queen Juliana and princess Beatrix.jpg|thumb|Queen Juliana and Princess Beatrix serving cocoa and buns to their staff on Christmas 1960]]
The queen was noted for her courtesy and kindness. In May 1959, for example, [[Polish-American]] [[ufologist]] [[George Adamski]] received a letter from the head of the Dutch Unidentified Flying Objects Society, Rey d'Aquilla, informing him that she had been contacted by Queen Juliana's palace and "that the Queen would like to receive you".<ref name="tm1">{{cite magazine|title=The Queen & the Saucers|magazine=Time|date=1 June 1959| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,811123,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713175327/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,811123,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=13 July 2007|access-date=27 April 2007}}</ref> Adamski informed a London newspaper about the invitation, which prompted the court and cabinet to request that the queen cancel her meeting with Adamski, but the queen went ahead with the meeting, saying that "A hostess cannot slam the door in the face of her guests."<ref name="tm1"/> After the meeting, Dutch Aeronautical Association president Cornelis Kolff said: "The Queen showed an extraordinary interest in the whole subject."<ref name="tm1"/> The Dutch press put it more straightforwardly. According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, newspaper ''[[de Volkskrant]]'' said: "The Dutch press could hardly be accused of concealing the facts last week. Once again, Queen Juliana's weakness for the preternatural had landed her back in the headlines: she had invited to the palace a crackpot from California who numbered among his friends men from Mars, Venus and other solar-system suburbs."<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,811123,00.html#ixzz1jWNHOYuY| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713175327/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,811123,00.html#ixzz1jWNHOYuY| url-status=dead| archive-date=13 July 2007|magazine=Time|title=The Netherlands: The Queen & the Saucers|date=1 June 1959}}</ref>

An event in April 1967, helped by an improving Dutch economy, brought an overnight revitalization of the royal family: the first male heir to the Dutch throne in 116 years, [[Willem-Alexander]], was born to Princess Beatrix. This time, the demonstrations in the street were of love and enthusiasm.